In the field of telephony communication, there have been many improvements in technology over the years that have contributed to more efficient use of telephone communication within hosted call-center environments. Most of these improvements involve integrating the telephones and switching systems in such call centers with computer hardware and software adapted for, among other things, better routing of telephone calls, faster delivery of telephone calls and associated information, and improved service with regard to client satisfaction. Such computer-enhanced telephony is known in the art as computer-telephony integration (CTI).
Generally speaking, CTI implementations of various design and purpose are implemented both within individual call-centers and, in some cases, at the telephone network level. For example, processors running CTI software applications may be linked to telephone switches, service control points (SCP), and network entry points within a public or private telephone network. At the call-center level, CTI-enhanced processors, data servers, transaction servers, and the like, are linked to telephone switches and, in some cases, to similar CTI hardware at the network level, often by a dedicated digital link. CTI processors and other hardware within a call-center is commonly referred to as customer premises equipment (CPE). It is the CTI processor and application software is such centers that provides computer enhancement to a call center.
In a CTI-enhanced call center, telephones at agent stations are connected to a central telephony switching apparatus, such as an automatic call distributor (ACD) switch or a private branch exchange (PBX). The agent stations may also be equipped with computer terminals such as personal computer/video display units (PC/VDU) so that agents manning such stations may have access to stored data as well as being linked to incoming callers by telephone equipment. Such stations may be interconnected through the PC VDU by a local area network (LAN). One or more data or transaction servers may also be connected to the LAN that interconnects agent stations. The LAN is, in turn, typically connected to the CTI processor, which is connected to the call switching apparatus of the call center.
When a call arrives at a call center, whether or not the call has been pre-processed at an SCP, typically at least the telephone number of the calling line is made available to the receiving switch at the call center by the network provider. This service is available by most networks as caller-ID information in one of several formats such as Automatic Number Identification (ANI). Typically the number called is also available through a service such as Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS). If the call center is computer-enhanced (CTI), the phone number of the calling party may be used as a key to access additional information from a customer information system (CIS) database at a server on the network that connects the agent workstations. In this manner information pertinent to a call may be provided to an agent, often as a screen pop on the agent's PC/VDU.
In recent years, advances in computer technology, telephony equipment, and infrastructure have provided many opportunities for improving telephone service in publicly switched and private telephone intelligent networks. Similarly, development of a separate information and data network known as the Internet, together with advances in computer hardware and software have led to a new multimedia telephone system known in the art by several names. In this new systemology, telephone calls are simulated by multimedia computer equipment, and data, such as audio data, is transmitted over data networks as data packets. In this system the broad term used to describe such computer-simulated telephony is Data Network Telephony (DNT).
For purposes of nomenclature and definition, the inventors wish to distinguish clearly between what might be called conventional telephony, which is the telephone service enjoyed by nearly all citizens through local telephone companies and several long-distance telephone network providers, and what has been described herein as computer-simulated telephony or data-network telephony. The conventional systems are referred to herein as Connection-Oriented Switched-Telephony (COST) systems, CTI enhanced or not.
COST telephony is not limited to wired, or land-line systems, but may include wireless network systems as well. The purpose of the definitions here is to distinguish clearly between data-packet systems, which share available bandwidth, and non-packet systems, which use dedicated connections or channels.
The computer-simulated, or DNT systems are familiar to those who use and understand computers and data-network systems. Perhaps the best example of DNT is telephone service provided over the Internet, which will be referred to herein as Internet Protocol Network Telephony (IPNT), by far the most extensive, but still a subset of DNT. DNT systems may also include wireless sub-systems.
Both systems use signals transmitted over network links. In fact, connection to data networks for DNT such as IPNT is typically accomplished over local telephone lines, used to reach points in the network such as an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The definitive difference is that COST telephony may be considered to be connection-oriented telephony. In the COST system, calls are placed and connected by a specific dedicated path, and the connection path is maintained over the time of the call. Bandwidth is basically assured. Other calls and data do not share a connected channel path in a COST system. A DNT system, on the other hand, is not dedicated or connection-oriented. That is, data, including audio data, is prepared, sent, and received as data packets over a data-network. The data packets share network links, and may travel by varied and variable paths.
In addition to Internet protocol (IPNT) calls, a DNT center may also share other forms of media with customers accessing the system through their computers. E-mails, video mails, fax, file share, file transfer, video calls, and so forth are some of the other forms of media, which may be used. This capability of handling varied media leads to the term multimedia communications center. A multimedia communications center may be a combination CTI and DNT center, or may be a DNT center capable of receiving COST calls and converting them to a digital DNT format. The term communication center will replace the term call center hereinafter in this specification when referring to multi-media capabilities.
In systems known to the inventors, incoming IPNT calls are processed and routed within an IPNT-capable communication center in much the same way as COST calls are routed in a CTI-enhanced call-center, using similar or identical routing rules, waiting queues, and so on, aside from the fact that there are two separate networks involved. Communication centers having both CTI and IPNT capability utilize LAN-connected agent-stations with each station having a telephony-switch-connected headset or phone, and a PC connected, in most cases via LAN, to the network carrying the IPNT calls. Therefore, in most cases, IPNT calls are routed to the agent's PC while conventional telephony calls are routed to the agent's conventional telephone or headset. Typically separate lines and equipment must be implemented for each type of call weather COST or IPNT.
Due in part to added costs associated with additional equipment, lines, and data ports that are needed to add IPNT capability to a CTI-enhanced call-center, companies are currently experimenting with various forms of integration between the older COST system and the newer IPNT system. For example, by enhancing data servers, interactive voice response units (IVR), agent-connecting networks, and so on, with the capability of conforming to Internet protocol, call data arriving from either network may be integrated requiring less equipment and lines to facilitate processing, storage, and transfer of data.
With many new communication products supporting various media types available to businesses and customers, a communication center must add significant application software to accommodate the diversity. For example, e-mail programs have differing parameters than do IP applications. IP applications are different regarding protocol than COST calls, and so on. Separate routing systems and/or software components are needed for routing e-mails, IP calls, COST calls, file sharing, etc. Agents must then be trained in the use of a variety of applications supporting the different types of media.
Keeping contact histories, reporting statistics, creating routing rules and the like becomes more complex as newer types of media are added to communication center capability. Additional hardware implementations such as servers, processors, etc. are generally required to aid full multimedia communication and reporting. Therefore, it is desirable that interactions of all multimedia sorts be analyzed, recorded, and routed according to enterprise (business) rules in a manner that provides seamless integration between media types and application types, thereby allowing agents to respond intelligently and efficiently to customer queries and problems.
More recently, communications companies have been developing ways to add a new IPNT medium to multimedia options for communication. This newer medium is the well-known instant message (IM) service. Instant messaging enables online or network connected parties to generate and deliver text messages to one another over the network. The inventors have incorporated IM technology within a communication center environment in order to provide more efficient solutions to challenges such as the ability to communicate current communication center status to customers attempting to reach the center for service for example.
Older call-centers relying on COST communication techniques simply play recorded messages, the recordings informing the customers of the status of an agent being called. More advanced communication centers, including multimedia centers, have more extensive automated services in place for interacting with customers in the event that no agents are available. Most of these services are, however, IVR driven and inform callers of options, as well as status of those persons the callers are attempting to connect with.
Challenges that have been addressed using IM technology include communicating estimated call-waiting times. In prior art, this is accomplished using IVR interaction. A customer must invest the time and suffer the inconvenience of placing a call to the communication center in order to receive the status information. As described above, this information is made available through IVR interaction in prior art systems.
One network-based system known to the inventor enables users of the system to obtain current agent-status information related to agents of an information-source facility connected to the network before initiating contact with the agent or agents of the information-source facility. The system comprises a status-server node connected to the information-source facility (communication center) and to the network, an interface-server node connected to the status node and to the network, the status-server node accessible to the interface node, a user-operated network-capable appliance connected to the network, the interface node accessible to the network-capable appliance, and a software application distributed on at least the status and interface server nodes, the software application enabling distribution of the agent-status information to the user-operated appliance.
The user operating the network-capable appliance connects to the network and accesses the interfacing server node and requests the agent-status information, the agent-status information is then accessed from the status server node connected to the communication center by the interfacing server node and delivered to the requesting user over the operating network.
The system, in one aspect, uses instant message presence protocol (IMPP) technology compatible with a formal protocol such as IMMP-IETF RFC 2778 and is described in disclosure included herein and referenced by Ser. No. 09/710,042 in the cross-reference section above. Such a system saves phone costs for customers and/or agents as well as reduces utilization requirements of communication-center interface technologies such as IVR technology.
An enhancement to this system enables communication center agents using the system also to obtain current status information related to clients of an information-source facility connected to the network in order to optimize callback connection success from the agents to the monitored clients.
Also known to the inventor and referenced in the cross-reference section as Ser. No. 09/766,271 is a similar system that further provides a self-service interface for clients of a communication or information center that enables the client to determine agent states without calling the center, publish his or her own state without requiring the center to initiate a call, and perform a variety of business-related tasks at the center without requiring any agent interaction.
The system utilizes an IMPP capable application for enabling a client to interact with communication-center resources through an interactive client interface component operable by the client for posting client data and for receiving and displaying agent and interaction data from the communication center.
A brokering component is also provided for managing client and communication center data and communication, and, additionally, a status monitoring and reporting component is provided for monitoring and reporting communication center and client status. The application is characterized in that a client using the user interface is enabled to access and alter communication center data, and also to initiate live interaction with the communication center. The application is described in relation to Internet uses and system architecture as well.
In the area of IPNT outside of secure environments, Instant Messaging Presence Protocol IMPP has become a rapidly growing and popular form of communication. Active communication using standard IM messaging is enabled when connected IMPP users have downloaded and installed software from an IMPP service provider. Once the users are connected online, text typed in a senders dialog box is instantly viewable by a recipient.
There are many service providers offering IMPP service on the Internet today. Two of the most popular providers are MSN™ Messenger Service and AOL™ Instant Messenger. Despite the extreme popularity and growth of IMPP systems, a security standard has not yet been established for the instant communication method. Therefore, companies that want to use IM for private communication, whether internally between agents or between agents and clients, must either design a completely new IMPP system from the ground up or trust AOL or MSN enough to send all traffic (including sensitive information) through their networks.
As a result, the contributions referenced above as prior art, if third-party hosted, must be significantly tooled to provide adequate security and presence protocol as it applies to communication center guidelines or, if proprietary, completely created from scratch as a communication-center-controlled service requiring client (customer) subscription and full software provision.
A secondary challenge in implementing a secure IMPP service in a communication center environment is that most third-party provided systems are not compatible with each other requiring a third-party host, such as a communication center to incorporate all of the software and hardware requirements to host multiple services used by clients. In this environment it becomes difficult for agents to respond in an ordered and coherent fashion especially if bombarded with multiple IMs from differing services.
Therefore, what is clearly needed is a system that allows controlled and intelligent routing of IMs to individual CSRs (agents) working as a group of active agents wherein intelligent rules and constraints are applied for ordering and in some cases structuring the communication sequences.